Politics of Switzerland

Politics of Switzerland Political parties in Switzerland Elections in Switzerland: 2003 Flag of Switzerland Template:Unverfied File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Aargau European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Switzerland Alpine skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ski jumping... Look up Politics on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Politics (disambiguation) Democracy History of democracy List of democracy and elections-related topics List of years in politics List of politics by country articles Political corruption Political economy Political movement Political parties of the world Political party Political psychology Political sociology Political... Switzerland is a federal republic, and perhaps the closest state in the world to a direct democracy. ... Political parties in Switzerland lists political parties in Switzerland. ... Politics of Switzerland Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Switzerland ... Jump to: navigation, search Legislative elections in the Swiss Confederation were held on 19 October 2003. ...

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The Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei (FDP) (in French: Parti radical-démocratique (PRD) and in Italian: Partito Liberale-Radicale Svizzero (PLR)) is a free market liberal party in Switzerland. The official English translation of the party's name is Free Democratic Party of Switzerland. A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... Jump to: navigation, search This article discusses liberalism as a major political ideology, not the usage of the term in specific countries. ...

The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. A few of the cantonal parties in Central Switzerland are/were named Liberal Party (Liberale Partei), and not affiliated with the Liberal Party of Switzerland. As of March 2005, the party president is Fulvio Pelli. Current members in the Federal Council are Pascal Couchepin and Hans-Rudolf Merz. The Liberal International is an international organization for liberal parties. ... Logo of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (founded in 1993) is a liberal party, active in the European Union, uniting liberal and centrist parties around Europe which together represent more than 20 million European voters and is an international non-profit... The Liberal Party of Switzerland (German: Liberale Partei der Schweiz, French: Parti liberal suisse, Italian: Partito Liberale Svizzero) is a free market liberal party in Switzerland. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Swiss Federal Council (in German: Bundesrat, in French: Conseil fédéral, in Italian: Consiglio federale, in Romansh: Cussegl Federal) is the seven-member executive council which collectively assumes the office of head of state equivalent to that of a president or of a monarch in the government of... Pascal Couchepin (born April 5, 1942) is a Swiss politician. ... Hans-Rudolf Merz (born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss politician. ...

Platform

As a classical Liberal party, the FDP generally opposes state intervention in social and economic affairs. Based on its conception of the individual as free, sovereign and self-responsible, it rejects notions of a welfare state and paternalist regulation that became common in Liberalism in other European countries in the late nineteenth century. The FDP professes faith in the free market, free trade, economic deregulation and the rule of law. Jump to: navigation, search This article discusses liberalism as a major political ideology, not the usage of the term in specific countries. ... Jump to: navigation, search There are three main interpretations of the idea of a welfare state: the provision of welfare services by the state. ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ... Deregulation is the process by which governments remove selected regulations on business in order to (in theory) encourage the efficient operation of markets. ... The rule of law implies that government authority may only be exercised in accordance with written laws, which were adopted through an established procedure. ...

As regards specific issues, it is often labeled progressive with regard to social policy, supporting e.g. the legalisation of soft drugs and legal recognition for same-sex couples. In economic policy, it generally favors reduced government spending, tax cuts and a flexible labour market. However, like most other Swiss parties it has no tradition of strong central leadership or ideological unity, and consequently the views of its individual representatives or functionaries vary considerably across the rough center of the political spectrum. Progressive can refer to: Progressive music, including Progressive rock, Progressive metal and Progressive electronica Political Progressivism Several Progressive Parties Progressive Era in the United States (1890-1913) Progressive, a company providing auto insurance The Progressive, a left-wing monthly magazine The progressive tense in grammar Progressive lenses, used to correct... The term soft drug is given sometimes to a range of drugs that are supposed to be less harmful than other drugs, called hard drugs. ... Same-sex marriage (also called gay marriage, marriage equality, and often just marriage by its proponents, and—usually by its opponents—homosexual marriage) refers to a marriage between individuals of the same gender (for other forms of same-sex unions that are different from marriages, see the articles linked in...

The FDP is often considered to be closely associated with Swiss business interests, in particular banks and pharmaceutical companies. In the eyes of its detractors on the Right, this has caused it to abandon its liberal values at times, e.g. by its support of import protection for medicine or of the expensive 2002 government bailout of the failing national airline, Swissair. Iain Banks is a Scottish-born writer of both mainstream and science fiction novels. ... A pharmaceutical company is a licensed drug company, licensed to discover, develop, markets and distribute drugs. ... Medicine on the Web NLM (National Library of Medicine, contains resources for patients and healthcare professionals) Virtual Hospital (digital health sciences library by the University of Iowa) Online Medical Dictionary Collection of links to free medical resources Categories: Medicine | Health ... Jump to: navigation, search 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Swissair MD-11 Swissair, short for Swiss Air Transport Company Limited, was Switzerlands national air carrier for 71 years (1931-2002). ...

History

The elements liberal, radical and "free-thinking" (German freisinnig) in the party's name suggest a left-wing party, while in the current political landscape of Switzerland, the FDP is center-right. This is because the name dates back to the conflicts between the catholic conservative cantons and the protestant liberal cantons that led to the foundation of the Swiss federal state in 1848. The bourgeois protestant cantons had defeated the catholic cantons, and from 1848 until 1891, the Federal Council was composed entirely of FDP members. It was only with the rise of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland in the early 20th century that the FDP found itself on the right side of the political center. Jump to: navigation, search This article discusses liberalism as a major political ideology, not the usage of the term in specific countries. ... Radical is derived from the Latin word radix, which means root. In various fields of endeavor, it can mean: Sciences in chemistry, either an atom or molecule with at least one unpaired electron, or a group of atoms, charged or uncharged, that act as a single entity in reaction. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Swiss Federal Council (in German: Bundesrat, in French: Conseil fédéral, in Italian: Consiglio federale, in Romansh: Cussegl Federal) is the seven-member executive council which collectively assumes the office of head of state equivalent to that of a president or of a monarch in the government of... The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (also rendered as Socialist Party of Switzerland, in German: Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz (SPS), French Parti socialiste suisse (PSS), Italian Partito Socialista Svizzero, Romansh Partida Socialdemocrata de la Svizra. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Presidents

• 1978-1984 Yann Richter, Neuchâtel
• 1984-1989 Bruno Hunziker, Aargau
• 1989-2001 Franz Steinegger, Uri
• 2001-2002 Gerold Bührer, Schaffhausen
• 2002-2004 Christiane Langenberger, Vaud
• 2004 Rolf Schweiger, Zug
• 2005- Fulvio Pelli, Ticino

Neuchâtel is a canton of Switzerland. ... Aargau (German Aargau, French Argovie, Italian Argovia, Romansh Argovia, in English sometimes Argovia) is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. ... Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. ... The Canton of Schaffhausen is a canton of Switzerland. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Canton of Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland located in the southwestern part of the country. ... Zug (French: Zoug, Italian: Zugo) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. ... Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland, and almost entirely German-speaking municipality of Italian enclave of Campione dItalia. ...

External link

• Official web site (in German)
• Official web site (in French)

See also

• Liberalism
• Contributions to liberal theory
• Liberalism worldwide
• List of liberal parties
• Liberal democracy
• Liberalism and radicalism in Switzerland